Costa Rica President Oscar Arias, the principal negotiator in the “Honduran crisis,” let the cat out of the bag on September 29 by stating that the situation is due at least in part to the Honduran constitution. He called it “the worst in the entire world” and “an invitation to coups”:

It lacks an impeachment process, so I imagine the only way of calling the president to account was to oust him. … This is something that will have to be resolved, and the best way to do this is, if we can’t have a constitutional election, is to have certain reforms so this Honduran constitution ceases to be the worst in the entire world.

This strikes me as very revealing, even more so than Howard Dean’s acknowledgment that ObamaCare can’t include tort reform because the trial lawyers (big supporters of the Democratic Party) would not stand for it.

The Honduran constitution is not “the worst in the world.” There are others far worse, including that of Venezuela — now amended to permit El Presidente Hugo Chávez to remain in office indefinitely. However, even accepting Arias’ statement at face value, his belated observation that it has no impeachment process and “the only way of calling the president to account was to oust him” comes very close to an admission that removing Manuel Zelaya from office was lawful. That is pretty close to what the Congressional Research Service concluded in a report released by Congressman Aaron Schock (R-IL) on September 24.

The Arias statement is also tantamount to an acknowledgment that he himself went far beyond his proper role as a negotiator when he demanded the reinstatement of Zelaya. The demands of Arias, Chávez, Obama, et al. were demands to violate the Honduran constitution.

Arias also went far beyond his mandate as a negotiator when he asserted that since there can not be a “constitutional election” there must be “certain reforms.” Leaving aside that he offered no analysis as to why there can not be a constitutional election (one is scheduled for November 29), it was not the place of Arias or the representative of any nation other than Honduras to demand that the Honduran constitution be changed.

Nations are expected to adhere to their constitutional processes, and whether the Honduran constitution should be changed is an internal affair — not something to be based on Arias’ absurd perception that it is “the worst in the world.” There are certainly likely to be problems with the November 29 election, due currently to the return of Zelaya to Honduras and the grant of refuge at the Brazilian embassy (which is now causing domestic problems for Brazilian President Lula da Silva). The insistence of the Obama administration and Chávez that Zelaya be reinstated has certainly contributed to those difficulties, but that does not make the scheduled election unconstitutional.

The Honduran constitution could presumably be amended to provide expressly for impeachment of a sitting president; that is not one of the three types of amendments which are prohibited by it, and this should be a matter for Honduras to decide. Amending the constitution to provide an express article dealing with impeachment is not what Zelaya was trying to do, and it is not what got him removed as president. He was trying to change it to permit successive terms as president, which the constitution specifically prohibits. That is one of the three constitutional provisions expressly forbidden to be changed.

Meanwhile, things are getting hot in Brazil. The government is facing rising criticism at home over its handling of the Honduran crisis, as senior lawmakers accuse it of allowing the ousted president to use its embassy as a political platform. Zelaya has virtually taken over the embassy with dozens of supporters and has given numerous interviews to foreign and domestic media. His sudden return from exile a week ago triggered violent protests in Tegucigalpa and placed Brazil at the center of the Honduran power struggle. Government and opposition legislators in Brazil’s Congress have urged Lula to curtail Zelaya’s political engagement in the embassy. Eduardo Azeredo, head of the Senate foreign relations committee, told reporters:

Zelaya’s political activities are unacceptable. They weaken Brazil’s position and international image.

Brazil’s major newspapers have run critical editorials and almost daily caricatures, mocking Lula’s perceived leniency with Zelaya. Conservatives are upset that Brazil may have been put into this bind by Chavez, a fellow left-wing leader and supposed Lula ally. A front-page caricature in Tuesday’s O Globo newspaper showed Lula, Chavez, and Brazil’s Foreign Minister Celso Amorim singing Zelaya a lullaby as he dozed under his signature cowboy hat, with boots propped up on a chair in his embassy refuge.

In an editorial, O Globo said it was “deplorable that Brasilia allowed itself to be entangled in a Chavez trap.”

It is no less deplorable that the United States, the OAS, the UN, and most nations have done the same.

The unexpected but correct statements of Oscar Arias that Honduras’ constitution does not provide for impeachment and that “the only way of calling the president to account was to oust him” puts into stark focus the mess that Brazil has got herself and Honduras into by granting Zelaya refuge.

Dan Miller graduated from Yale University in 1963 and from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1966. He retired from the practice of law in Washington, D.C., in 1996 and has lived in a rural area in Panama since 2002.

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1.
Rick,Greenville,SC

Well, trolls, how will you spin this? More proof that the Hondurans did the right thing. . . another oblammo misstep.

A proposal for a Honduran solution for the Honduran crisis was announced tonight by Cardinal Juan Jose Pineda. Instead of the international community forcing the San José Accord on Honduras, when neither side agrees with it, Hondurans will develop their own Tegucigalpa accord. (Tegucigalpa is the capital of Honduras.)

Cardinal Pineda has acted as the mediator between President Roberto Micheletti and ex-president Manuel Zelaya this past week, so he is in the best position to know whether it will be accepted by both. He was confidant that Hondurans are able to sit around the negotiating table and come to a Honduran solution themselves. OAS Special Adviser John Biehl also has said that he found a strong willingness for dialogue.

President Micheletti and ex-president Zelaya will each select 2-3 representatives, as will an association of civic groups and Resistencia. An international mediator will be selected.

I hope this is just a play for time. All they have to do is stall Zelaya until November 29, at which time there will be an election without his name on the ballot. If they can manage that, they can avoid bloodshed.

Zelaya is simply doing the only thing he can to prevent his sorry ass from sliding into the unknown.

Sneak back into the country and stir up as much discontent as possible in hope of forcing something, anything to happen.
(the leftist way, create a crisis where none exist and then, as in the immortal words of U.S. Treasury Sec. Timothy Geithner, “Never let a good crisis go to waste”)

Zelaya has nothing to lose, he has nothing period so anything is better than nothing, that is unless it is the jail cell he deserves.

This episode is a stain on all America thanks to our current illustrious leader in chief the former all mighty obama.

I too am ashamed of my country. I now fly the Honduras flag over our compound.
I live and minister in this beautiful constitutional country which has the rule of law, (for now).
I emailed the US embassy that i am holding the ambassador Hugo, Obama, and Hillary personally responsible for the safety of my family and children in our orphanage. They are planning to turn the communist thug Zelaya, and his criminal gangs loose on Honduras.
After all, Zelaya is a useful tool for Obama, Chavez, Castro, the OSA, and the UN to destroy the Constitutional Government of Honduras, and replace it with communism.
They will not prosper. God is on the side of truth.
Viva Honduras!!!

According to this article, Senator Kerry (D. Mass) has blocked a trip by Senator DeMint’s (R-S.C.) to Honduras. Senator Kerry’s spokesperson stated that

the DeMint trip was stopped because the South Carolina Republican is blocking two of President Barack Obama’s nominations: Auturo Valenzuela, Obama’s nominee to be assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere Affairs, and Tom Shannon, the current assistant secretary and nominee to be ambassador to Brazil.

Senator DeMint had intended to lead a congressional delegation to Honduras on October 2.

DeMint’s office followed with a statement. “These bullying tactics by the Obama administration and Senator Kerry must stop, and we must be allowed to get to the truth in Honduras. Not a single U.S. Senator has traveled to Honduras to learn the facts on the ground.

Senator DeMint has generally been supportive of the present Honduran Government and Senator Kerry has been supportive of former President Zelaya, as has been the Obama Administration. According to this article,

“Both of these nominees rushed to oppose the rule of law in Honduras and want to force a Chavez-style dictator back into power,” DeMint told The Hill. “They exemplify this administration’s misguided and heavy-handed tactics against the Honduran people and side with those who trample freedom.”

“I’ve been attempting to work with Sen. DeMint to release the holds; we do need to have those officials,” said Lugar.

“It’s very important in terms of our overall relations with Latin American countries that we’ve have been attempting to enhance with much more vigorous diplomacy,” he added.

DeMint said in an interview that he does not want the standoff over the nominees to erupt into a major confrontation but felt he had to pressure the administration into restoring foreign aid to Honduras

It’s constitional! But it’s the “worst in the world” because it doesn’t have impeachment, only ousting the miscreant. Oh, like “impeachment” (not ouster) of Bill Clinton? (Sorry, Hondurans don’t go in for “that depends upon what the definition of ‘is’ is.”)

What a shame from a supossed negociator. How in the world can Mr. Arias say that our constitution is the worst in ther world! Just because it does not allow thew reelection of a presidente, just because that was the way he did it in Costa Rica!
Dasn your analysis is totally correct and as a Honduran I appreciate your contribution to the understanding of our situation by the people of other countries.

Our state department is a disgrace as is our secretary of state and president. Where did American take this turn to the left? In reality Obama ran as a centrists and bascically used his star power and media drones to glide into office. Has anyone ever known less about the background and beliefs of a US president? Never!!

Well surprise surprise. He is a socialists left leaning radical wack job who is doing damage to the USA on a breath taking scale. Three and a bit years cannot come fast enough. In the meantime all we can do is extend our sympathies to the many millions of people who will be exploited by this man and his lefty friends such as Castro, Ortega, Chavez, Morales and now that loser in Brazil Lulu. It is also important to note that the institutional sell out of almost all of the majors in this case. Take note that the EU, UN, OAS are all saying quite incoherently that Zelaya should be returned and re-instated. So what? So he can serve out his remaining months and then NOT stand for election? Does this make any sense at all.

No wonder Hillary is in hiding. What a disgrace? Are we not crazy to let this go on?

The Arias comments are laying the groundwork for re-introducing the “cuarta urna” into the November 29 elections. If the Constitution is obviously flawed, as he says, then now is the perfect time to fix it. Once that door is open further changes become possible.

Here, of only marginal relevance, is a report that despite the combined eloquence of President and Mrs. Obama, Chicago did not make the first cut in the voting on where to hold the Olympics. Perhaps the Olympic Committee should soon turn its attention to Honduras.

If Senator Kerry (who served in Viet Nam) gives his royal blessing to Senator DeMint to travel to our beautiful country, i hope he understands that Zelaya’s thugs (“supporters”) are being paid well to destroy property in Honduras. My brother-in-law was offered lps.500 per day($26.46), which is a normal weeks pay, to march in the streets, in support of Zelaya.
There is money to be made here. Lets see-i have 42 orphans, 12 workers, two techers. my wife and me and our two children that comes to 60 X $26.46= $1,587.60 per day, $11,113.20 per week. $47,628 per month. This may explain why the Zelaya thugs are on the streets, and why Hugo Chavez and other communist dictators must get the closed drug route open through Honduras soon. Did any one in the US government call for an investigation?
I recently drove a school bus loaded with supplies, for our orphanage, from Maryland to Honduras. I saw the real America-US flags, churches, crosses, “God bless America”, “support our troops”, tea party marchers, etc.
God bless America (except Obama’s policies)!!
Viva Honduras!!!
Peace,bobbyhonduras@yahoo.com

Bobby, according to the article linked in comment #14, Senator Kerry did not give his approval. He was got around,

after Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) became involved. The Kentucky lawmaker used his leadership position to authorize DeMint’s trip through the Department of Defense, and not the State Department, which is customary for Senate overseas travel.

As to Senator Kerry’s cognitive abilities, and recognition that many of the Zelaya supporters are paid thugs, I would not count on either.

(I understand and read english easily, but don’t know how to write). So here it goes:
Mr. Zelaya is secluded in a tightly secured spot. The Brasilean Embassy. He won’t be able to get out in any way. So he is trapped in his own trap, as long as we want.
The great majority of hondureans don’t like him because during his tenure, and with a plan to stay forever as President, following the example of his mentor, Hugo Chávez, he tried to divide our usualy tranquil society, offering the leftist organizations -those few that usualy march only on “el día del trabajador” (May 3), without any constitutional representation- constitute obedient members of what could become the proposed “Constitutional Assemby”, that would make him the “imperial” President, by imposing the future Congress and High Tribunals under his comand, just like the venezuelan actual goverment.Part of a grand plan of Chavez to take control of all of our continent.
That’s why we can’t let him recuperate the presidenciy, even for a minute. Those who think that can be done dont know him.

Here is an interesting, although to me rather silly, analysis of the DeMint trip to Honduras. According to the article,

The Logan Act forbids “unauthorized citizens” from negotiating with foreign governments. In a 1936 Supreme Court ruling, Justice Sutherland wrote that “the President alone has the power” and “the Senate cannot intrude, and Congress itself is powerless to invade it.”

Leaving aside the other problems with the article, the “de facto government” of Honduras is not recognized by the United States, which continues to recognize Zelaya as the true president of the country. Moreover, it seems unlikely that DeMint will try to “negotiate” much if at all with the current government or with the government recognized by the United States; his is reported to be a fact finding mission, rather than an attempt to negotiate. Were he to attempt to negotiate, on whose behalf would he do so? Certainly not on behalf of the President of the United States or, for that matter, on behalf of the United States Government.

To the extent that DeMint’s “fact finding” expedition brings the actual situation in Honduras to the attention of the powers that be in the United States, indeed in the world, and even the press, it will be a good thing.

Senator DeMint and his colleagues arrived in Honduras, where they met with various leaders of the “de facto” government and candidates in the November 29 election.

A spokesman for DeMint . . . said in a statement e-mailed to The Associated Press that the senator’s visit was strictly a fact-finding mission and “was not to support or encourage any particular politician.”

‘Sen. DeMint supports full civil rights, democracy, the rule of law and he wants to see a quick resolution to the crisis, one that allows the Honduran people to resolve it through a fair and transparent process,’ he said. (emphasis added)

How silly! To think that the Honduran people should have any say. Well, I never . . . What business do they have in meddling in such matters?

Why did Zelaya come back to Honduras? Because he’s running out of time, and he knows it.

I fully expect a large turnout for Honduras’ November 29 election, which, God willing, will be certified as free and fair. In voting, Hondurans will tell the world that they alone have the right to choose who should govern them (not the OAS, the US, or anyone else). And despite their statements to the contrary, it will be hard for the US or the Europeans not to recognize a President-elect with millions of votes to his name. Of course, Hondurans will NOT be choosing Zelaya. Thus, Zelaya must do his best to disrupt the upcoming election, or find himself an irrelevant sore loser, like Mexico’s Lopez Obrador after losing to Fellpe Calderon.

Just a minor correction. It appears the study you quoted was not prepared by the Congressional Research Service, but by the Library of Congress’ Law Library. Here’s a correction from a WSJ article that also cited the study:

“A study on Honduras law and the recent removal of President Manuel Zelaya was done by the Law Library of Congress. This column attributed the study to the Congressional Research Service, based on information provided by the office of Congressman Aaron Schock (R., Ill.). A spokesman for Mr. Schock says the Congressman commissioned the study from CRS, which passed the request on to the Law Library, which also does research for Congress.”

I would assume the CRS passed on the study request as it recognized the Law Library’s foreign legal experts to have more expertise on the subject than the CRS had. In any case, as far as I can tell, the Law Library is a nonpartisan entity as well.

As to the November 29 elections, I very much hope that you are right and that Zelaya and his friends won’t make a pig’s breakfast out of them. With the support being given by Chavez and his merry band, as well as by most foreign governments and by most of the international media, that is my greatest concern about them.

Here is an update from la Gringa, whom I consider the best source of reliable information about what’s happening in Honduras.

She sets out the high points of a Zelaya interview on Radio Globo yesterday (the station briefly shut down a couple of days ago, much to the consternation of the international community, in which Zelaya said that the elections will be fraudulent and that more international intervention is needed.

The efforts of Brazil, noted earlier, to get Zelaya to moderate his tone seem to have fallen on deaf ears. This comes as no surprise.

I am a Honduran GRATEFULL, VERY GRATEFULL taht the truth is comingout. When we took Zelaya out (we as “we the people”) we tought we were going to get a medal ! We had taken down a CRAZY ally of Chavez, but we NEVER imagined the international community could be blind sided so easily !! Lately the tide is changing and I am able to read news taht is much more accurate and not only the TON OF LIES sent out to the media.
I would also like to bring to everyone’s attention our No.1 Enemy, Abassador Hugo Llorens, the US Ambassador to Honduras. Even before the 28th Llorens was adiment to going foward with Zelaya’s plan to change the constitution and saty in power, we have no idea why and we would LOVE to have someon investigate. My email is margitbo@gmial.com if anyone wants more info about many, many things he did before June 28th. I can document and even get interviews if necessary.

Here is a link to a draft statement by Senator DeMint upon his return to the United States following his trip to Honduras. He states,

We had a very productive trip, and we will have more to say next week after we have briefed our colleagues in the House and Senate. But for now, I can say that we saw a government working hard to follow the rule of law, uphold its constitution, and to protect democracy for the people of Honduras. We are very encouraged by what we saw and we hope to be able to work with our administration to support the upcoming elections.

I am deeply dissapointed with Mr.Arias statement abou the honduran Constitution.How could be possible he accepted Missis Clinton apointment as a mediator and did not take the elemental obligation to read first our Constitution?.He is supposed to be a lawyer, and a good one.Now I am very doubtful about it.There’s and old saying in central america: “los ticos son como los patos, si no la cag…a la entrada lo hacen a la salida”.That’s exactly what Mr Arias did.

This report, if accurate, offers hope that the next step in the Honduran crisis will be for Zelaya to be granted asylum in some country other than Brazil and for the scheduled November 29 elections to proceed with full international support. A translation by la Gringa includes the following:

The representatives of OAS, after learning of the “iron defense” of Honduran institutions, advised the mission that will hit the country this week that “what happened in Honduras is an internal problem and its solution should be framed in the United Nations Charter that says in article II paragraph 7, where no provision of this Charter shall authorize the United Nations to intervene in matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state nor shall require the Members to submit such matters to settlement under the present Charter”.

La Gringa says that she does not know whether the report is accurate, but if it is then it is very good news indeed.

I cannot believe it! There are 100 Jewish families in Honduras. But the losers, the liars who would overthrow constitutional government in Honduras and establish a Chávez type dictatorship there, are alleging tht Israel is at fault for throwing out Zelaya.

Gas just erupted on the moon – the Jews are to blame!! Where’s my gun? I’d love to blow this trash to kingdom come….

Well, as a Honduran, I’ve been shocked that the United States has NOT reacted in favor of the government from the get-go. Obviously times have changed, and right now you are having a lot of problems with your own left wing government, but there seems to be a lull in your national media that I frankly didn’t expect from a nation like yours. Yes, I can see CNN shows footage of the protests, but a trained monkey could do that. how about analyzing the situation from a global perceptive and understanding the larger picture, how this situation might, and is, affecting your country and govt a well. I hope you open your eyes before its too late and then you’ll be emigrating to Cuba.

I am glad too, like my friend Margit wrote, that the TRUTH is coming out now and that the constitutional succession of government that occurred in Honduras is now being recognized. Can someone send this article to the US administration? Are they not opening their eyes as well? It is truly shameful!

Here is a perceptive take on Senator DeMint’s visit to Honduras, his recent Wall Street Journal commentary, and the persistent refusal of the Obama Administration to take Honduran constitutional issues into account. Those issues are important to Honduras, and to the extent that the Obama Administration elects to meddle, should at least be considered.

We can, I suppose, only hope that the United States Government position will change, in a good way, and that the results of an unimpeded November 29 Honduran election will be recognized. If not, a good country will have been screwed.